The Best Rodent Repellers and How do they work!

The Best Rodent Repellers.

What are the best rodent repellers to use when you need to get rid of rats and mice?

In this article, we look at the different types of rodent repellers, how do they work and why they work. We look at the differences between Ultrasonic and Electromagnetic rodent repellers and what makes each effective.

As people are slowly moving away from poisons, chemicals, and traps and heading towards a more humane way to deal with pests, we find the market flooded with more electronic rodent repellers. There are a large variety of different brands as well as different technologies inside the repellers that will give you different results and that are also used for different purposes.

There are a lot of people claiming that they work really well and fix their problems, other times people are claiming it’s just a fad and nothing will be the good old trusty traps or baits.

So, why do some people have such amazing success and others don’t. We will try to explain this here.

There are two main technologies that are used to repel pests and that is Ultrasonic and Electromagnetic. These are not new technologies, they have been around for a very long time and varies studies have been done on them. The best rodent repellers will have both technologies in the unit.

Ultrasonic Rodent Repellers.

What are they?

Ultrasonic pest repellers utilizes a high – pressure ultrasonic sound that is higher than the human hearing range. Some repellers emit fluctuating sounds that startle and frightens away rodents and cockroaches from your home. Using a variable pulse generator, the repeller emits fluctuating sound waves so pests don’t get accustomed to the sound. Furthermore, some of the top end repellers will also provide a loud spike in sound to replicate the sound of dominant male rodents, and since they are very territorial and constantly fighting to establish dominance, it will discourage others rodents from coming and staying at the specific location. It is important for the ultrasonic repeller to sweep at a correct frequency.

There are a lot of different repellers on the market with a weak signal, generally due to the quality and price of the speaker that they use and therefore not providing great results. A frequency of 32-62kHZ in the repellers is what has been determined to provide the most effective results.

There has been a lot of studies done over the years to see the effect of ultrasonic sound on rats and mice.

Some of the studies are:

Kansas State University: did an in-depth examination providing its appeal on rats and mice. The review stated: “confirmed that ultrasonic sound products do have both a repellent result as well as a reduction in mating and reproduction of a variety of insects”.

The University of British Columbia by John P.J Pinel – a thorough investigation was done to evaluate the possibilities of using a device which emits high – intensity, ultrasonic sound to control rat populations. The study found “that a signal administered at only 96db was a noxious to rats as a painful electric shock”

A study conducted by S.A Shumake at Denver Wildlife Research Centre confirmed a decrease in food consumption where ultrasound devices were present.

So, there is definitely scientific backing for the ultrasonic devices to repel various animals, but what are the restrictions and why sometimes they do not work?

Do rodent repellers work?

One of the reasons that ultrasonic sound might not work is that ultrasonic sound does not travel through walls, so for the units to be effective the correct placement of the units is crucial. It is also important to choose the right frequency to repel either rats or mice or other animals. We can all hear the ultrasonic sound, however not on the same frequency. Devices that can be easily adjusted to a different frequency is preferred as you can choose yourself desired frequency, adjust the volume and sensitivity.

Repellers with only ultrasonic sound are ideally used in places such as garage, patio, roof cavity, shed, or under the house.

Secondly, the best ultrasonic – only repellers are the ones that have speakers all around, that way if you place it in the middle of the roof cavity, you will have ultrasonic sound evenly radiating throughout the entire space and will give even coverage to make it uncomfortable for animals to be around.

Electromagnetic Rat and Mice Repellers

Electromagnetic Rodent repellers utilize the existing wiring within the walls of your home or building by simply sending a pulsing or shifting signal through the wires, which is a sound we can’t hear but rodents can. They find this to be uncomfortable and therefore, they see that location as hostile and will move out. The signal is turned on and off at set intervals so the rodents will not build up a tolerance. Electromagnetic vibrations from the unit are picked up by the rodents, making it difficult or impossible for them to gather food, breed and build their nests, and communicate with each other. As a result, your home becomes an extensive pest repeller and all rats and mice will want to escape and stay away.

People have often referred to the technology as the following: imagine yourself trying to sleep at night time, your neighbors are having a huge party and @ 2 am they have heavy metal playing extra loud. You suddenly are awake and startled. You are just about to head over to your neighbors to give them a strong recommendation of turning the music off, but before you open the front door, the horrific sound stops. You go to bed again thinking that was a mistake, you settle back into your nice comfortable bed when moments later the heavy metal music goes to full bore. This time the neighbors may not be so lucky. Therefore, demonstrating that rodents can not get used to the sounds or vibrations which gets turned on and off and varying times. This makes it very difficult for the rodents to nest / drink / eat and multiply.

What scientific studies have been done on the rodent-repelling technologies?

2003 Research by Professor Danthanarayana an Emeritus Professor of Zoology at the University of New England, who has 42 years experience as a Zoologist. His research affirms the findings and conclusion that the food and water consumption of rodents are adversely affected by electromagnetic pest control devices.

2002 study performed by Genesis laboratories in Colorado USA, which shows the ability of electronic repellent devices to repel certain pests in controlled environments. The study shows: “the feed consumption patterns offer the strongest indication that the wild mice we, in fact, reacting to the device. The females in particular displayed feeding patterns consistent with a hypothesis that they were avoiding the signal. The responses of both sexes of mice when the signal location was reversed in phase 2 also suggests the mice were aware of the signal. The feeding pattern clearly changed in conjunction with the signal relocations.”

H.Shytel Glover cockroaches test, 1997 “The Electromagnetic devices are not only effective in repelling roaches but after removal has a residual effect for approximately 30 days. The results from the tests showed successfully repelling rodent from the protected area.

How does the sound spread through the house?

The electromagnetic sound will travel through your existing wiring, on the electrical circuit that it is plugged in to. If you have a larger house with multiple circuits, you will need a device on every circuit for the units to be effective.

As a general rule, a 2 bedroom house will have 1 main electrical circuit, for anything larger or two level house will have two circuits.

What are the limitations of electronic rodent repellers?

The type of wiring in the house plays an important role in how these devices work. In rare situations the wiring is encapsulated and will not provide a signal through the house, hence making it ineffective. It is also important to have the signal going through the entire electrical circuit. A standard 2 to 3 bedroom house will 1 electrical circuit and 1 device would be sufficient to spread the signal through the entire house. However, if you signal is going through an isolated circuit, then it will not travel through the house and will not be effective. Two level house and more than 3 bedrooms will require a stronger signal to for it to be effective. You can check how many electrical circuits you have through your electrician.

The benefits of using electromagnetic and ultrasonic devices to repel rats and mice:

Unlike poisons, ultrasonic does not kill rodents but provides the ability to provide long-term reductions in rodent populations by creating a hostile environment that discourages rodent infestations. Make sure to get the best rodent repellers for your house that will depend on where and with what you have a problem.

What scent will keep mice away?

If you want to add an extra measure, then peppermint oil is a great choice. It has a very strong smell, and since rodent relies strongly on a sense of smell, they find the aroma of its menthol to be very irritating to their nasal cavities. You would want to use 100% peppermint oil that will be slowly released without spilling. This is something you can use in conjunction with the rodent repellers. And make sure to select the right location where you think the mice is entering the house.

What kills mice best?

It has always been known that the poison will kill mice. However, recently it has been reported that rodents are becoming used to the poison. It is also only a temporary solution until another family of rodents gets into your house. So we have to come up with better solutions. It is also important to choose what would be environmentally friendly and safe around family and pets and will not cause any harm.